Dealing with Heat in backyard set-up?

[ksnider]

So I'm thinking about meat rabbits at some point in the future, and I'm wondering whether or not it would even be possible for me to have meat rabbits at our current location.

Indoors is no go - we rent a pretty small house and my husband HATES small-animal smell. Outdoors we have a decent-sized fenced-in backyard. If the landlord was ok with it (I may be dreaming here lol!) we could potentially set up hutches in the backyard. There are no outbuildings, and we don't have electrical outlets where we could use them outside. This is in central Ohio, so average summer temps have highs in the mid-80s but it can certainly get into the 90s or 100s for weeks at a time.

Given those conditions - are there reasonably-priced small set-ups where rabbits could handle those temps? They don't have to produce, I'd be fine with not breeding for a few months, but I'm concerned that temps that high would be too much for rabbits without some kind of AC or fan. We could foreseeably do something DIY or buy something pre-made as long as it wasn't crazy expensive. Nothing permanent - no digging massive holes in the yard etc - as I doubt the landlord would be happy with any permanent changes to the backyard.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[alsea1]

Create some shade for them.
We freeze soda bottles for them to lay next to in extreme summer heat. It has helped a lot.
Time your litters so that they are born when its not so bad.
Winter an be tough in regards to water bottles. This next winter I'm going to try rotating water tubs rather than frozen water bottles.
Nice thing about rabbits is you get some great fertilizer.
It can be done. Good luck